1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile floor cleaning machine. In particular, it relates to a floor cleaning machine using several recycling systems to maximize both energy usage and cycle time cleaning efficiency. The recycling systems include rinse water recycling, waste heat recycling and the like. Known art of relevance can be found in U.S. Classes 15 and 45 and the subclasses thereunder.
2. Known Art
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, there are a variety of floor cleaning machines or vacuum cleaners commercially available today. Many types of engines are available for such cleaners but most (especially household) cleaners are powered electrically. Industrial commercial cleaners however typically require more power than other cleaners so they are often powered by internal combustion engines or the like.
For Example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,753 to Palmer shows a self-propelled carpet scrubbing machine that is adapted to dispense cleaning solution and then recover dirty solution. The machine uses a vacuum recovery assembly and a scrub brush adapted to work the cleaning solution into the surface to be cleaned. The device does not use waste heat from the engine to heat the cleaning solution, nor does it dry the floor after cleaning, nor does it recycle its recovered rinse water or other recyclable resources.
Industrial cleaners are larger and more complex than conventional household vacuum cleaners. Many commercial cleaners employ shampoo or other cleaning agents as well. Some known devices use waste heat from the engine to heat a cleaning solution before applying it to the carpet to enhance its cleaning ability.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,082 to Roden shows a cleaning system that uses a liquid heating system utilizing heat from the internal combustion engine. This device is not very efficient in that it does not show a method for drying carpet nor for recycling rinse water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,753 to McConnell shows an exhaust gas liquid heating system for internal combustion engines. This patent is of marginal relevance in that it shows a method of heating liquids using waste exhaust heat from internal combustion engines. It also is not very efficient at capturing recyclable resources.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,909 to Cameron shows a carpet cleaning system that is truck mounted. The truck contains reservoirs that store a supply of cleaning fluid that is heated with the cooling water from the truck engine. The device includes a remote vacuum wand that dispenses the heated cleaning solution and then suctions it from the carpet. The device does not use waste heat from the engine to dry the carpet nor does it recover and subsequently use its water, nor does it use the engine exhaust, nor does it use the engine oil heat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,340 to Bates shows another truck mounted carpet cleaning machine. The device uses waste heat from the truck engine to heat the cleaning fluid which is subsequently injected on the carpet for cleaning purposes. The dirty cleaning fluid is subsequently suctioned from the carpet via vacuum. The device has no provision for recycling the dirty solution nor drying the floor, nor capturing engine oil heat, nor preheating carpet with engine exhaust or vacuum pump air.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,127 to Collier et al shows another carpet cleaning system. Once again, the heat from an internal combustion engine is used to heat a cleaning solution. This device does not utilize the dirty cleaning solution as a recycle stream nor does it provide for drying of the carpet.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,277,511 to J. M. Little et al shows an adjustable width floor cleaning machine. The device does not recycle and it is inefficient.
Although these devices attempt to improve the efficiency of a carpet cleaning system, their engines still wastes a significant amount of heat. In addition, most of the systems disclosed in the known art are suitable only for large, bulky cleaning machines that must be installed in the back of a van or truck. Such systems require a wand attached to long, cumbersome hose in order to reach indoor carpeting. These systems generally do not provide a suitable means of either preheating or drying the carpet being cleaned.
Importantly, the known art fails to efficiently utilize and/or recycle all energy expended by the cleaner. Most will appreciate that operating expenses, particularly fuel costs, can be decreased if more efficient recycling methods are utilized in carpet cleaning machines. Such methods include transferring heat to a cleaning solution from the engine cooling air, exhaust, liquid coolant, and the engine block itself. Particularly useful is the transfer of waste heat from the engine lubricant to the cleaning solution.
Most floor cleaning systems in the known art recover the cleaning solution only to discarded it after use. It is therefore desirable to provide a means for using less water to clean a floor by recycling a large portion of water.
It is also desirable to have a carpet cleaning system with improved efficiency, wasting less heat energy from an internal combustion engine. It is also desirable for these qualities to be incorporated into a system small enough to be pushed around or driven by a single person.
The present invention overcomes the above referenced problems perceived with the known art. The present invention provides a highly efficient vacuum cleaner with recycling pathways that maximize the work from the energy consumed by the vacuum cleaner in several ways. Thus, the compact and mobile vacuum cleaner of the present invention achieves higher efficiencies than those of the known art.
The present invention includes a mobile vacuum cleaner that is adapted to clean either carpeted or uncarpeted flooring. The cleaner uses multiple recycling pathways or streams that enhance the efficiency of the vacuum cleaner. The floor cleaning apparatus is mounted on a frame supported by wheels or rollers or the like that facilitate machine mobility. The frame supports a vacuum pump and reservoirs or tanks holding clean cold water, dirty water and hot cleaning solution separately. The frame also supports an internal combustion engine that provides power for the machine.
The engine of the apparatus powers the vacuum pump. In addition, the engine may also be used to power a fan to direct heated air to dry the cleaned and rinsed floor. It may also be used to propel the apparatus thereby making it easier to operate.
In one exemplary embodiment, the machine includes several distinct sections that successively clean a segment of flooring as the machine traverses the flooring. The first machine section pretreats the flooring segment. The second machine section washes the flooring segment and then suctions the segment. The third machine section rinses the flooring segment and then suctions the segment. The final machine section dries the flooring segment.
The first section utilizes a heated air stream to pretreat the flooring segment in advance of subsequent washing treatments by the machine. The pretreating section ideally heats the flooring segment from 10-100xc2x0 F. to enhance subsequent cleaning treatments. The additional heat transferred to the flooring segment heats the filaments of the carpet or surface of the hard floor to further enhance the cleaning ability of the machine.
The second washing section provides a preliminary liquid treatment upon the flooring segment that is immediately followed by vacuum suctioning. The vacuum suctioning removes dirty cleaning solution and entrained contaminants from the floor segment.
The third rinsing section immediately follows the washing section. The rinsing section dispenses clean water upon the floor segment to lift any remaining residual contaminants along with soap or cleaning solution residues. The dirty or xe2x80x9cgreyxe2x80x9d rinse water and lifted dirt and other residues are removed with vacuum suctioning. Ideally, the vacuum suctioning immediately follows liquid dispensing so that when used on carpeting the liquids do not deeply penetrate the carpet backing.
The final drying section forcefully blows drying air upon the flooring segment to complete the cleaning process. Ideally, the drying section follows the rinse section closely to assist in preventing liquid penetration of carpet backing. The drying section may be surrounded by baffles in order to create a heat plenum to more thoroughly dry the cleaned floor by penetrating depressions in a floor. This also facilitates more thorough drying around the fibers of a carpet.
The foregoing sections may include recycling streams as necessary and desirable. For example, heat from the engine, pumps and other heat generating components may be used to heat the drying air or the pretreating air or both. The xe2x80x9cgreyxe2x80x9d water suctioned from the rinsing section may be recycled and used as a portion of the wash solution. The exhaust from the vacuum system may be used to augment the feed of heated air for the pretreating section. The use of recycling within the machine enhances the cleaning efficiency"" of the machine while permitting the engine and related components to be sized smaller than those otherwise acceptable.
As an example, the rinse water may be recycled. The rinse water is applied to the washed floor and recovered by vacuum suction. After recovery, it may be filtered or otherwise treated and/or separated to remove some contaminants before it is recycled. This dirty or xe2x80x9cgreyxe2x80x9d rinse water is recycled by first heating it by transferring heat from the engine""s lubricant to a grey water recovery tank. Cleaning agents are then added to the heated rinse water so that it may be used as a cleaning solution. This cleaning solution is applied to the floor and also recovered by means of a vacuum suction tool. This used or xe2x80x9cdirtyxe2x80x9d wash water is then collected in a reservoir or dirty water holding tank as waste water.
As another example, the cooling air can be recycled into drying air. The drying air is heated by passing it over the engine, radiator and catalytic converter. This air is combined with air that has been heated by circulation around the vacuum pump and other heat generating elements. This heated air is then directed by a recirculation fan toward the portion of the carpet that has just been cleaned and rinsed by the apparatus in order to dry the carpet.
As another example, in the pre-treating section, exhaust from the engine is recycled by directing it to the carpet prior to application of the wash and rinse solutions. The exhaust preheats the flooring, especially carpeting, to be cleaned to thereby improve the performance of the apparatus. A portion of the exhaust used to preheat the carpet can be recovered by the same vacuum suction tools used to recover the rinse water and cleaning solution. That is, the suction air can be recycled through the vacuum pump and then mixed with exhaust from the engine, and reapplied to preheat the carpet. This recycled air may be further heated as it progresses through the vacuum pump.
Thus, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a mobile apparatus for cleaning floors that uses energy more efficiently than the machines currently known in the art.
An additional object of this invention is to provide an apparatus that recycles internal combustion engine exhaust to preheat a floor.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for recycling air used to preheat a floor.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method for recycling heat from an engine lubricant to heat a cleaning solution.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for recycling the waste heat from an engine cooling air, other heat generating components of the machine and liquid coolant to dry a cleaned floor.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for recycling the waste heat from an engine catalytic converter to dry a cleaned floor.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved cleaning machine that employs multiple recycle pathways to increase the efficiency of the machine while decreasing operating expenses.